Spring Rain (Part 2)

"I'm Seol Ha-woon."

I looked directly into the camera before letting my gaze drop slightly.

"Right now, there are four mystery boxes sitting in front of me."

Number one, two, three, and four. They were identical in size and appearance, completely devoid of any distinguishing features.

"I consider these mystery boxes to be a gift made possible by all of you."

I pointed a finger toward the bottom of the frame—right where the subtitles would eventually appear.

"Once again, I will leave the choice to you. There will be a voting poll right below my profile."

Though the actual snowball fight wouldn't air until later, this PR video would likely be uploaded to the IONET website as early as tomorrow.

"Please cast your vote on which box I should choose."

Haha.

I forced a smile.

"Cut!"

"Cut the smile. Edit the rest exactly how Seol Ha-woon said."

In the editing suite, the assistant writer tilted her head at Kim A-rang's instruction.

"But PD-nim, why cut the smile? He actually looked quite nice smiling."

Usually, smiles were edited out if they looked bizarre, awkward, or unsightly, but Ha-woon's was none of those.

In fact, he looked better smiling than he did expressionless. His skin did a lot of the heavy lifting; his complexion was so flawless it rivaled that of top-tier celebrities.

Kim A-rang let out a soft chuckle.

"A smile loses its value if you give it away too easily."

Ha-woon's vote count was slowly climbing past the middle ranks. While they wouldn't know the exact numbers until the first official tally, the most volatile variable remained Kim Du-gyeom.

From A-rang's perspective, she couldn't fathom why Ha-woon was giving Du-gyeom such a hard time.

"By the way, how are the other writers reacting lately? Are they still talking?"

"...Yes. Surprisingly, quite a few of them dislike Seol Ha-woon. He bullies Du-gyeom so openly. It almost looks like school violence..."

Kim Du-gyeom was exceptionally amiable, especially toward the writers and PDs. He was the type to strike up conversations with a bright smile and offer a helping hand, never seeming to expect anything in return—a genuinely sweet kid.

Yet Ha-woon targeted him relentlessly.

"I wonder why Ha-woon is like that. Does he have some kind of allergy to nice people?"

"...Who knows."

Sometimes, there was no logical reason for one person to dislike another.

A-rang pursed her lips. Sensing the mood, the assistant writer quickly changed the subject.

"Um, PD-nim... do you think we'll get a big bonus this time?"

"Hmm?"

Lately, the entire IONET network was suffering from a status effect called 'screaming with joy.' Not just the Labyrinth Exploration NaN team, but the entire broadcasting station was pulling endless overtime.

That was how massive the show's impact had become.

"Writer Yoon. You said you have a housing loan, right?"

"...Yes."

A-rang grinned broadly.

"You'll be able to pay it off completely and still have enough left over for a mid-sized sedan."

The writer's face lit up instantly.

Up on the Back Mountain behind the C-Tier dormitory, where the air was crisp and clean, I swallowed a bitter sigh.

"...This is tough."

The opening of my mana circuits was nearly complete. In fact, functionally, they might already be fully formed.

The only problem was the area below my left knee—the one part of my body I had never been able to fully rehabilitate.

I had no intention of giving up, of course, but the mana simply refused to break through.

"Tsk."

I scratched the back of my neck, staring down at the cane gripped in my left hand.

"It'd probably be faster to channel it through this cane instead."

Half-jokingly, I let a thread of mana flow into the cane. In an instant, something cleared with a sharp, satisfying rush. The mana surged straight through the core of the cane, sending a vivid, tingling sensation back into my palm.

"!"

I froze in surprise. Right before my eyes, a MoMo status window flickered to life.

Mana Coefficient?

"Out of nowhere?"

I immediately pulled up the details of the cane.

'Receives a bonus scaling with the owner's mana talent.'

Was Mana Coefficient a trait that implanted a separate circuit directly into an object? I couldn't be sure yet.

But for now, the equipped mana bonus of the Mysterious Cane had jumped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from +0.5 to +0.8, and the other miscellaneous stats had also increased noticeably.

"A Cherished Item... Well, that makes sense."

Come to think of it, this thing was my very first piece of equipment. I had never swapped it out, and it had been by my side twenty-four hours a day. I had even attached a keychain to it: the Chief's Feather dangling from the handle. It more than qualified as a Cherished Item under the system's logic.

This was a welcome development.

"Confirm."

Mana Coefficient. It was certainly worthy of being called a special reward. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠In the future, I would be able to apply this to other equipment, not just my cane.

"Now then..."

Three Tech Points earned from leveling up. I planned to dump all of them into the perception tree.

I desperately needed nervous system-related tech, if only to withstand Sequence and Refinement.

Sequence went without saying, but the agony of Refinement was essentially an extreme overload on the entire nervous system. At least, that was my theory.

The pain of the 1st Refining had been roughly comparable to my physical therapy days. The 2nd Refining, however, had been on an entirely different level.

First, I upgraded the Tier 1 techs, Perception Boost and Cognitive Expansion, to low-intermediate.

Then, I unlocked the Tier 2 tech, Nervous System Reinforcement.

It was a highly rational choice. While mana-related techs could be leveled up naturally through repeated spellcasting, the perception tree was notoriously impossible to raise without spending points.

"...That takes care of that."

Of course, I still had an unopened Random Box, but I decided to save it for later. There was no immediate rush.

"Hmm..."

Next, I checked my personal profile on the IONET website.

"Number three has the most votes."

The final tally for the mystery box poll pointed to Box 3.

I stood before the camera once again.

"Thank you all for your support and votes. Since Box 3 received the highest number of votes..."

Muttering the lines, I grabbed the lid of Box 3. I felt a slight pang of anticipation.

The production team behind Labyrinth Exploration NaN was incredibly generous. This meant there was a very high chance the box contained an item of Rare grade or higher.

"Ta-da!"

I lifted the lid.

Inside, a single leather glove sat quietly.

"...Ah, it's a glove."

I almost felt a wave of disappointment, but I quickly appraised it.

My eyes widened.

This was incredible.

This wasn't just any ordinary Rare item. It was a top-tier Rare, bordering on Unique.

Why?

Just look at the trait: Mysterious Leather.

'Grants a subtle bonus to all actions performed with the hands.'

It was an incredibly vague description, but in MoMo, the vaguer an item's description, the better it was. It meant the scope of its application was massive.

Actions performed with the hands.

This didn't just apply to cat's cradle or knitting. It applied to logging, woodworking, crafting, and even aiming, pulling a trigger, and—if cast using the hands—spellcasting itself.

"Thank you. This is all thanks to you."

I bowed deeply, my heart hammering against my ribs in genuine excitement.

The library.

Lately, studying had become my hobby. I never expected to be the academic type, but having an undeniable talent for something was a powerful motivator.

No matter what spell formula I looked at, I could grasp its basic principles after seeing it just two or three times. If I dug deeper, I could dissect its structure and core. And if I actually cast it a few times, I could completely deconstruct and analyze it. It was impossible for it to be boring.

It was a classic positive feedback loop: you enjoy what you're good at, so you get even better.

Ian McCutter's Standard Spell Vol. 1

Ian McCutter's Standard Spell Vol. 2

Keist's Collection of Special Formulas

I didn't stop at the standard spell formulas of renowned spellcasters.

Parilion's Structural Spell Theory

David Marellion's Introduction to Spellcraft

Mastering Letorn's High-Speed Spellcasting

I devoured everything from the highly unique spell theories of distinguished university professors and scholars...

Standard Spellcasting Using Blood

Track, Chase, and Eliminate

Facial Expression Analysis Spellcraft

The Correlation Between Cognitive Image, Movement, and Action

...to the unorthodox texts published by rogue spellcasters. I was reading through them all.

For a novice spellcaster who still had so much to learn, this was an immense luxury. Books that would easily cost millions or even tens of millions of won on the open market were scattered all over the library here at the Labyrinth Exploration NaN facility.

Crash!

A loud clatter shattered my concentration. I glanced over toward the bookshelves and spotted Seo Ji-woo.

"Ow... that hurts like hell."

She had apparently fallen flat on her backside while trying to reach a book on a high shelf.

"What are you doing?"

"!"

Ji-woo flinched, spinning around to face me.

"...N-none of your business."

I picked up the book that had tumbled onto the floor.

Emer's Advanced Spellbook

Emer. He was a thirty-seven-year-old high-ranker rumored to be on the cusp of becoming a true Mage.

But that evaluation—'on the cusp of becoming a Mage'—was incredibly ambiguous.

Almost every decent spellcaster out there claimed to be close to the level of a Mage, but in the end, none of them ever seemed to actually cross that barrier.

I flipped open Emer's spellbook.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"...What is this garbage?"

My brow furrowed instantly.

"Pfft. Too hard for you? Do you even know who Professor Emer is?"

Ji-woo smirked as she picked herself up, making sure to keep a safe—actually, a rather wide—distance from me.

"Emer. I've heard the name."

It was a name that popped up frequently in the academic journals I had been reading lately.

Ji-woo shrugged her shoulders.

"I've actually met him in person. I studied under him for about six months when I went abroad. He even asked me to join his school."

"...The Emer School?"

"No. The Kezane School. Professor Emer is a direct disciple of that lineage. Heh."

Kezane. A true Mage.

I scanned the advanced spellbook once more.

"So... you're planning to study under someone who wrote a book like this?"

It was a question born of pure, unadulterated curiosity.

Ji-woo crossed her arms, puffing out her chest proudly.

"Yeah. Why, are you jealous?"

"......"

Quite the opposite, actually.

Granted, I was still just a novice spellcaster. My C+ mana rank was proof of that. In MoMo terms, there were still nine ranks left to climb: B-, B, B+, A-, A, A+, AA, AAA, and S.

I was practically a toddler with a long road ahead of me, but my raw talent stat after pushing through the 2nd Refining was a staggering 12.6.

On top of that, my trait, Good Eyes, Good Ears, amplified my abilities further.

Every action performed with my eyes and ears—including my analytical 'eye' as a spellcaster—was amplified.

This meant that by simply looking at a spell formula, I could instantly grasp its strengths, weaknesses, efficiency, advantages, and overall structure.

And because of that...

"This book is absolute garbage."

I could state my opinion bluntly, without caring in the slightest about the author's prestigious reputation.

Because I knew. Because I could explain it.

And most importantly, because I could rewrite it better.

"...What?"

Ji-woo's brow furrowed. I waved the book in front of her, a smirk playing on my lips.

"It's incredibly inefficient. And needlessly pedantic."

"Pedantic... what? Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

Ji-woo let out a scoff of pure disbelief.

"You've lost your mind. Can you even cast any of the formulas in there?"

"No. Not yet."

I couldn't. Not with my current level of skill.

My mana control was still lacking, and Emer's standard formulas were strictly advanced-tier.

"......"

Ji-woo stared at me blankly, looking at me as if I were a complete lunatic. But I wasn't lying.

"But I'll be able to soon enough."

A year... no, three months would be more than enough to reach that level.

"But even when I can, I won't ever cast them like this."

Ji-woo narrowed her eyes. Leaning back against the bookshelf, she muttered irritably.

"You're hilarious. Just barging in here out of nowhere to say that."

"...If you can help it, don't study under him."

A person's personality is always reflected in their spell formulas. Anyone who publishes a convoluted mess like this and takes pleasure in watching his students struggle is highly likely to be a narcissist.

"You'll either end up learning nothing but superficial tricks, or you won't learn anything proper at all."

He was the type of person who was drunk on his own reflection. Someone consumed by intellectual vanity, unable to tolerate anyone who didn't acknowledge his absolute superiority.

And above all, someone who could never stand to see a student surpass the master.

There were plenty of officers and commanders like that in the military. Almost all of them were liabilities. A narcissistic commander either got his subordinates killed, or ended up getting fragged by them.

I usually leaned toward the latter option.

"You're talking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crazy. You've never even met Emer."

"That's true."

I had never met him, but I wasn't judging him 'just' by his writing. It was precisely because it was his writing that I could see right through him with relative accuracy.

It was a science ten times more accurate than physiognomy. After all, very few people write lies in their own journals.

"...Ah! Wait a second."

Suddenly, Ji-woo's eyes went wide as if a thought had just struck her.

"Is it because... this professor is young and handsome?!"

...I had absolutely no idea what kind of nonsense she was talking about.